-If you caught either Villanova/Georgetown on ESPN or Rutgers/Tennessee on ESPN2, then you saw highway robbery commited in both games courtesy of some disorganized officials who in each game ruled in the home team’s favor.

Now I’m not one to normally point that out as in the conclusion of each of these competitive men’s and women’s Division I games, it just so happened that a crucial call went in the home school’s favor. Ironically enough, the endings came less than a few minutes apart making for a disappointed scene back at the studio up in Bristol.

In the No.6 ranked Hoyas’ case, they went down to the wire with Jay Wright’s Wildcats. ‘Nova leading scorer Scottie Reynolds had helped his desperate Big East team rally from 12 down tying the game with a nice driving lay-up for the last of his game-high 24. Following a Georgetown timeout, the Wildcats got a stop and then called time to setup a final play with 30 seconds left.

As that timeout was taking place, a bigger controversy was unfolding in Volunteer country where the three referees couldn’t seem to decide if Nicky Anosike was fouled by Lady Scarlet Knight Kia Vaughn before time ran out. The confused trio huddled together and then went to the scorer’s table to discuss why there was still 0.2 on the clock when it probably should’ve ran off before Vaughn grabbed Anosike.

While they decided to reward Anosike with two free throws, I flipped back to see how the Wildcats made out on their final possession. I caught it just in time to see a livid Wright on the sideline in utter disbelief at a ridiculous touch foul called on Villanova’s Corey Stokes with 0.1 on the clock 75 feet from the basket. During their possession, a driving Reynolds lost the ball on a double team allowing Georgetown to come away with it. That’s when Jonathan Wallace dribbled to try to get off a desperation heave when the silly stripes blew their whistle for essentially nothing even leaving the ESPN broadcast team stunned by such an atrocious call.

With the game knotted at 53, Wallace calmly drained both free throws leaving ‘Nova unable to even get a shot, which dropped them to 4-7 in the conference. A loss which could prove costly if they are to qualify for the Big East Tournament. The top 12 get in. The Wildcats will play St. John’s this Saturday in what now amounts to a big game. Especially with Norm Roberts’ club reeling off three in a row after a humiliating blowout home defeat at the hands of these same Hoyas who benefited from such a weak call.

While that awful injustice concluded, I got to see Anosike with her No.2 ranked team down one sink both free throws forcing a noticeably upset Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer call for time to setup one final desperation shot with 0.2 still on the clock. Amazingly, as it was inbounded to an RU player who mishandled the ball out of bounds, the same 0.2 never elapsed forcing the officials to blow their whistles signaling the end of this controversial game between last year’s national championship participants which Pat Summitt’s Lady Vols also won.

One game should’ve been in overtime while the other should’ve given the Lady Scarlet Knights a measure of revenge finally getting the better of Tennessee away from home for the first time in school history. Instead of celebrating like they were when they figured they’d pulled the upset, the No.7 ranked Knights swallowed hard and showed good sportsmanship not protesting while congratulating their fortunate opponents.

These two officiating mishaps were disgraceful. That they could each take place in such big games is even more embarrassing. I don’t know what was up with the Tennessee scoreboard but what happened in Georgetown was just brutal. Especially when Villanova needed the game for seeding position. You can’t ever decide a game on such a call.

I saw some not so good officiating today over at the Berkeley Carroll gym in Park Slope but it paled in comparison to what happened during these two Div.I games. I definitely feel for the players and coaches who deserved a better fate. Who knows if ‘Nova beats the Hoyas in OT? It’s a flip of the coin. Only thing is they had all the momentum.

The Lady Scarlet Knights should’ve won. They clearly were robbed. Hopefully, they’ll get another crack at the Lady Vols in March.

-We hockey fans all know how dangerous the sport can be. Let’s just thank goodness that Panthers’ forward Richard Zednik is still alive after having successful emergency carotid artery surgery to repair an area which lost five pints of blood due to teammate Olli Jokinen’s skate blade accidentally slicing the right side of his throat during Sunday night’s road game in Buffalo. Doctors never considered his life in jeopardy. Thankfully, they were proven right because Jokinen’s blade just missed cutting the jugular vein.

I can’t imagine what the Florida team captain must’ve been feeling like as they stopped the game for 15 minutes before deciding to complete it. Such a freak accident can happen when you talk about this sport. Especially with sharp blades as well as dangerous pucks which travel at very fast speeds and sticks which sometimes can catch players in bad areas. We saw something freaky like this occur neartly 19 years ago with former Sabre goalie Clint Malarchuk when his jugular vein was sliced open by St. Louis’ Steve Tuttle during a scrum. This infamous disgusting incident can be found on YouTube. I just don’t feel like linking it because it is every bit as gruesome as it sounds. I am glad I didn’t see what happened to Zednik but even happier that like Malarchuk, the Slovak will live to tell about it.

Sometimes, you got to thank your lucky stars.

-How is Congress supposed to be taken seriously when so much of their Mitchell Report steroids case won’t be forced to talk Wednesday in Washington? Andy Pettite, Chuck Knoblauch and former Met trainer Kirk Radomski should all have to testify. What I never grasped was why they seemed to be targeting select people while ignoring plenty of other names who there seemed to be even more evidence against.

This process just doesn’t make any sense. No matter what some obsessed sports columnists tell you.

-Now that the Knicks snapped their eight-game skid by hanging on by the skin of their teeth at Milwaukee, does Lord Isiah still actually believe his team has a run in them?

-Shaq sure said a lot at that introductory press conference for a guy who still hasn’t even debuted for the Suns. I still can’t help but like the Big Aristotle because he’s got so much personality and can back up his big words. You just wonder how much the soon to be 36 year-old four-time NBA champion has left.

-Losing Inside The NFL to another richer network is just another sad reality check for pigskin fans. For 31 years, HBO covered the game of football better than any other network including those know it alls up in Bristol, Connecticut. Though I sure do miss Prime Time.

What separated Inside The NFL from other shows was how much they were able to give you on the inside. From the huddles to the sidelines to postgame locker room stuff, this is where it originated. So, when you see what you do on other networks, where do you think they came up with it? From one very in depth cable network which does an outstanding job covering sports in between all the movies and sitcoms they air.

-Is Sidney Crosby still the NHL’s IT star player when teammate Evgeni Malkin is carrying the same team on his back with Sid The Kid out? Just saying.

-Make me care about the Grammys.

-Pitchers and catchers might be here but wake me up in say six weeks when it really starts to matter.

-My Stanford buddy John Giagnorio was all excited about Tyrus Thomas’ big game in a Chicago road win at Golden State. But what I’m wondering is what the heck happened to Tyrus in the Bulls’ next game? A 13-point loss at Utah. You can have good games in the NBA but doing it on a consistent basis is what separates the men from the boys.

-Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore to the Senators for Patrick Eaves and Joe Corvo is about as nifty a move as Ottawa GM Bryan Murray could make adding championship proven players to a roster which fell three games short of a Stanley Cup a year ago.

-By the time the Rangers play again, it will be St. Patty’s Day. At least that’s what Irish sources are telling me.

-Imagine if Alexander Ovechkin was Canadian and Crosby was Russian. Who do you think would be receiving all the attention? It’s Canada’s game.